'Unli' hotel rooms for Boracay mulled

The Tourism department says the number of hotel rooms in Boracay will not be limited once the tourist resort reopens next week, belying the earlier pronouncements of the Environment department.
The Environment department on Thursday vowed to go after the litterbugs in Boracay after Undersecretary Benny Antiporda expressed disappointment over the trash found on Boracay’s beach front during the first day of its reopening dry run.
He said the adoption of a “zero-tolerance policy” against litterbugs was the best way to prevent littering problems on the island.
Meanwhile, Cebu Pacific Air is rolling out the second module of its Juan Effect program as the airline donated trash bins to be used in time for the reopening of Boracay before the end of the month.
“Cebu Pacific continues to push for sustainable tourism as it rolls out the second module for Juan Effect in Boracay, in time for the impending reopening of one of the most beautiful islands in the Philippines,” the airline said in a statement.
Environment Undersecretary Sherwin Rigor earlier told ANC’s Headstart that the Tourism department will assign a certain number of rooms to accommodate the 19,000 tourist limit for the island.

“DOT does not limit the number of hotel rooms in the island. We only accredit those who are compliant with the standards,” the department said in a statement.
As of Oct. 12, only 68 hotels and resorts have complied with the government’s requirement to either have their own sewage treatment facility or be connected to accredited sewage pipes and have their facilities moved at least 30 meters away from the shore.
“There is no deadline for submitting requirements; once compliant, we accredit and they can open,” the department said.
Stricter building and operating guidelines were imposed on businesses in Boracay in a bid to rehabilitate the overcrowded and polluted beach destination.
Boracay was closed to tourists on April 26 after President Rodrigo Duterte said it had turned into a cesspool.”

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